Chapter 186 Hangzhou Branch
Lin Ruoyan had thought this through and had the President's Office lead the Design and Engineering Departments to prepare for the bid for the Binjiang Demonstration Park. She also sent a message within the real estate company, encouraging everyone to actively recommend themselves for the position of General Manager of the Hangzhou branch.
It's been a while since the news was posted, but the response hasn't been as positive as I'd hoped. The Hangzhou of this era in the book is far from what most people consider a first-tier city.
Furthermore, opening a branch office requires meeting targets and is incredibly stressful. While everyone made money last year, they've fully understood their capabilities through various training sessions. Most people specialize in a single area, with little understanding of the company's operations or other departments. Furthermore, many employees are originally from Beijing, and those who have moved here are generally quite young.
Lin Ruoyan talked to several directors separately, and everyone went back to talk to the people they thought were promising. Those who wanted to go were not suitable, and those who were suitable did not want to go.
Only Lü Gan, who previously worked in sales in Hangzhou, initially sold travel products when he was still young. He didn't major in sales, but rather in tourism and foreign trade, and didn't even get a first-tier university, just a second-tier one. Upon graduation, he was ambitious and was approached by a startup entrepreneur a few years his senior to join him in the travel business. At the time, the domestic tourism market was still very narrow and difficult to tap into, so he later found an opportunity and began selling foreign trade products.
After many twists and turns, I have sold more houses in the past ten years and have gained more experience in losing money.
He remembers Hangzhou's scenery vividly. He and his wife met by Hangzhou's West Lake; her hometown is nearby, Yiwu. Back then, he was broke, but his wife's family was in business, much wealthier than his. His wife had a college degree in trade, a high level of education in those days. Instead of looking for work, she helped with the family business.
Now my wife is still doing business, selling small commodities made in her own factory in Yiwu’s hometown to Jingshi Dongpi, doing upstream wholesale.
In the past, Lu Gan was frustrated and unable to find a job, so he helped his wife with her business. His wife disliked him for his bad luck and was afraid that he would lose money if he took over the business, so she only let him do manual labor. If Lin's Real Estate hadn't hired him, he would have been forced to continue helping his wife with the business.
He earned millions in commission from selling the luxury house, which was equivalent to what he had earned in sales over the past decade. His wife simply stopped doing business. Her eldest brother was looking after the factory, so she wanted to retire early and become a full-time housewife to concentrate on raising their daughter.
After seeing that Mr. Lin had searched for a long time but no one was willing to go to Hangzhou, Lu Gan became interested and went back to discuss it with his wife. They had been working hard in Beijing for several years and had a house. Lu Gan also obtained Beijing household registration for himself and his daughter, but his wife's household registration was still in his hometown.
Lu Gan's parents had passed away, and he didn't have many relatives back home. If he went to Hangzhou to work, he'd be close to Yiwu. Working there, and being able to look after his parents-in-law, was a good idea.
My wife was also somewhat tempted. She could drive back to Yiwu on weekends to visit her parents and brother and sister-in-law. However, my daughter was only in her second year of high school and would take the college entrance exam next year. My wife's full-time job meant she had to provide comprehensive logistical support for her studies, personally picking her up and dropping her off every day and attending cram school with her on weekends. My daughter was enrolled in Beijing, so she definitely had to stay until after the exam before leaving.
Today, Lin Ruoyan had a closed-door talk with Lu Gan who came to her on his own initiative.
Lu Gan asked cautiously, "Boss Lin, do you think it's okay for me to go to Hangzhou?"
"Of course. Since you didn't say anything before, I thought you liked the position of Marketing Director."
"No, Jiang Fang is more suitable than me. After she came, everyone's morale has been higher. She does have many ways to motivate people, which is much better than my original laissez-faire approach." Lu Gan admitted his shortcomings. "But I have seen more real estate projects than her, and have more experience of failure. I have sold goods in Hangzhou and several surrounding major cities, so I think I may have a certain advantage."
Lin Ruoyan was certainly aware of Lu Gan's potential. She had initially considered persuading him to expand his territory, but she worried that his past failures had eroded his drive. Now that he had volunteered, she didn't question his ability, but she worried about his family's support.
"What do your family say? Haven't you already settled down in Beijing? Your daughter is also studying in Beijing. It seems that she will take the college entrance examination next year, right?"
"Yes, I heard that Z University in Hangzhou is also very good. So I thought, why don't I go there first to get the preliminary work done for the branch office, and then recruit better talents locally in the future. My wife also agreed. I will be assigned to Hangzhou, and she will stay at home full-time to take care of the children. If I can really gain a foothold in Hangzhou, she will bring our daughter to join me."
"Is your wife also from that area?"
"Yes, from Yiwu. Her family owns a small commodity factory. When I didn't have a job before, I helped her with wholesale goods. Now she agreed to let me go to Hangzhou because it's not far from Yiwu."
This is really great. Lin Ruoyan secretly rejoiced. She had originally worried that Lu Gan would settle down in Beijing. Even if he could take the lead in Hangzhou now, he might still have to come back after a few years. Now, if the family all agreed to go there, using Hangzhou as a base and expanding to the surrounding Shanghai, Suzhou, and Jinling, and radiating upstream to Yicheng, wouldn't there be hope for a stable position in the entire area?
Seeing that Mr. Lin hadn't said anything, Lu Gan felt a little uneasy again: "Mr. Lin, do you think I'm not good enough?"
"No, I just can't bear to leave." Lin Ruoyan smiled, "I originally wanted to only do real estate in Hangzhou. Now that you're there, you're a versatile person. We also need to establish other products that can be sold in Hangzhou and the surrounding areas. Do you have the confidence?"
Lu Gan's forehead was covered in sweat, and the pressure was increasing. "Can I bring some experienced people with me?"
"There's a great young woman in the design department. She's been working on a boutique hotel project in Hangzhou. I'm from the south, too, and I'd love to go. She has strong all-around skills and great potential, and she might not be limited to design in the future. You can decide who to hire from your department. Anyone who goes with you will get a promotion and a raise. If you work there for more than five years, we'll buy you a house in Hangzhou to settle down. Besides that, try to recruit professionals on-site for project costs, human resources, and finance. Local recruits have familiar local networks and are easier to coordinate with family matters."
Lu Gan immediately understood that the young woman in the design department needed to be trained as a key talent; she might even be tasked with overseeing the real estate business. Anyone else who could be hired locally should be hired locally, eliminating the need to transfer people from Beijing. Furthermore, for those who had been in Beijing for more than five years, buying a home and settling down could offer promotions and salary increases. This might be a good opportunity. It didn't matter where they were, right?
The younger and more enterprising people in the sales department are still willing to work hard in another city.
"In the future, we will build not only hotels and industrial parks in Hangzhou, but also luxury homes. You will have a heavy task ahead of you." Lin Ruoyan did not shy away from the fact that not only Hangzhou, but also Shanghai, Suzhou and Jinling are places that can be used to build luxury homes. Shanghai, in particular, also has the concept of school district housing. The sooner you act, the sooner you can seize the opportunity.
Now, when people hear about luxury housing development, their reaction is like picking up money in a sack, which makes them even more excited. All of Lu Gan's past failures have paid off with this successful turnaround in the luxury housing project, so he feels even more confident about continuing to develop luxury housing.
Judging from the proportion of revenue generated by luxury housing projects for the company, as long as a high-end luxury house can be developed in the future, it will definitely be enough to support the branch's profitability for three to five years. There is no need to worry about other projects, such as selling software and furniture.
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